Royal Guard (Children's Anuad)
The Royal Guard is a faction that serves as the personal protectors of the Emperor/Empress of the Fourth Empire. They are comprised purely of extremely well trained battlemages and follow a coordinated hierarchy of strict command. The faction was created by the battlemage Raphael Fontaine and headed by him, to prevent any sort of direct attack on the throne. For the Reloaded version of the canon, the organization remains the same, and the identites of it's members largely top secret. The Royal Guard of High Rock is also slightly fewer in number, and is now a special division for the Fourth Daggerfall Covenant, and is greatly loyal to the Fontaine family. History Original The Royal Guard is a newly formed organisation and thus does not have much history. They were created by the Battlemage and Security Expert Raphael Fontaine, after a string of assassination attempts in the palace that claimed the lives of quite a number of people. Also, Raphael's then lover Erys (now wife) nearly died in the attacks. This inspired Raphael to take elements of then affliation, the Lost Legion, and combine it with other aspects to make a potent defense force that can prevent repeat attempts, since regular guards were not enough, as evidenced by their incompetence. The Royal Guard therefore serves a very similar role when compared to the historical Blades, except they are not blindly loyal to the ruler and temper their total protection with tactics. Also, unlike the Blades, the Royal Guard are drafted directly from sign ups, not selected by insiders. Reloaded Like it's original counterpart, the organization does not have much history, being only recently formed by a mysterious benefactor, with a man (or woman) known only as 'Eagle' serving as the face ruler of the organization. To some, they are considered the successor of the Second Era's Lion Guard, the elite guard of the Daggerfall Covenant during the Three-Banners War. After the Third Daggerfall Covenant's subsequent collapse after the death of it's tyrant queen, the Royal Guard became divided in terms of their beliefs. Half went to become independent in Orsinium and eventually create a Sanctuary for all Royal Guards seeking to live out their remaining days in peace. Some continued to follow the queen's vision, but were eventually defeated by Casimir II and his forces during the War of Succession in High Rock before 4E 220. Eventually, some of the remaining Royal Guardsmen (whom did not use Nirncrux) that saw the power and discipline of the Fontaines beforehand through a famed hero of their family, pledged allegiance to the Fontaines, and now serve as one of the special divisions of the Fourth Daggerfall Covenant. Ideology The Royal Guard is trained to be extremely, but not utterly loyal to the crown. They will only lay down their lives for a just and fair ruler, and will even go as far to kill a tyrant abusing their power, if such a person comes to the throne, which actually falls within their duties. Also, the lower ranks are trained not to follow orders blindly, and insubordination against a stupid order will actually get the superior punished. The motto of the Royal Guard is "We assassinate the assassins." They guard the Palace extremely tightly and all visitors are subject to close scrutiny. Relatives of the crown are searched similarly to commoners. No special privileges are extended to anyone. Even the Emperor/Empress will be checked occasionally. Most of the Royal Guard is human, due to the fact they simply recruit the citizens of the Imperial City, which is mainly populated by humans, and also because humans are more likely to be loyal to a human ruler and so sign up. They do not discriminate between males and females, and encourage women to sign up because they do need females for security purposes. The pay of a Royal Guard coupled with the indoctrination is enough such that bribery and corruption is virtually non existent. Corruption is heavily punished and members of the Guard are reviewed regularly. Training The Royal Guard consists of highly-trained men and women with rigid discipline and willingness to carry out the orders of their superiors and protect their fellow guardsmen. All of them are trained to have the mental discipline to overcome the natural human instincts that people possess, so they do not immediately respond to threats by cowering. All of the Royal Guard are trained to move in heavy armor, light armor and medium armor, so they can switch armor at a pinch. Also, every Royal Guard is trained to fight with at least three different weapons, one of which is the one handed sword, which is carried by every guard as a back up to whatever else they happen to be using. This is also their ceremonial weapon. Every Royal Guard is further trained to disable and kill with their bare hands, multiple wrestling techniques and more forms of martial art in case they are disarmed. Every Royal Guard is also trained to master destruction and restoration, which obviates the need for any specialized medics, since anyone can heal anyone, and anyone can act as siege artillery if needed. Conjuration, Illusion and Alteration training is available, but these is offered only to specialized members. Every Royal Guard is put through extreme physical and mental training and conditioning. All learn survival skills, tactical planning and similar. They also learn teamwork and are trained to immediately respond and predict enemy movements, to avoid downtime. Also, they are taught to never desert their team mates. Thus, despite the lack of need, the Royal Guard is extremely capable of fighting not just in cities, but in any environment. Types Recruit: The Royal Guards in training, who are taught basic magic and how to use a sword first. They will slowly be split into various roles after going though a series of psychometric tests and weapons proficiency tests. Recruits are not required to patrol the palace. They form a reserve force, and normally are already quite skilled. Guardsman: The bulk of the Royal Guard. They have completed the rigorous training and conditioning process required to become a full Royal Guard. They are also capable of multiple roles as part of their training, and generally are clad in medium armor for protection without sacrificing mobility. They can also be sent as elite footsoldiers to battle, if needed, although this is not within their duties. All can easily fight multiple enemies and win. Sniper: The ranged unit of the Royal Guard. They are trained further to use bows and arrows (later firearms), alongside many long ranged magical spells. They rarely appear on the front lines and are strategically positioned around the Palace to cover choke points. They tend to use bound arrows, to ensure they always have a supply of arrows, and all can perform a bound bow spell. Many are Sorcerers or Nightblades. Light or Medium armor is the norm to facilitate movement. Snipers are also sent as assassins to take out tricky targets if necessary, as well as crack police forces for counter terror operations. Personal Guard: Guards who protect the Emperor/Empress directly. These people also answer directly to the Monarch and they are trained almost completely in defensive tactics after their basic training. All of them wear heavy armor, wield tower shields and are trained in spear combat. They are also exclusively trained in Templar arts. They are incredibly difficult to take out. The Personal Guard can also act as a secret police if necessary, and as they answer directly to the Monarch, the only people who can override any orders given to them is the Commander of the Guard. They always use an 8 man core force to protect the Monarch, with six in a hexagon, and two flanking the monarch closely. The Personal Guard always have the right to search any person or house, and do not require warrants, instead using a special tally given to them by the Royal Guard, which serves as an automatic warrant. The moment one becomes a Personal Guard, they will not be able to climb high in rank as they cannot join Special Applications. Special Applications/Asymmetric Forces: The cream of the Royal Guard crop, which answers personally to Raphael Fontaine and is trained personally by him. None of them wear the generic Royal Guard armor, they tend to have a wide variety of skills and are incredibly adaptable. The most skilled Royal Guard are all placed here, and everyone in important positions is drawn from here. All keep their identity as one of these secret. Known members are Raphael's son Seth and niece Celestine. Their duties include killing the monarch if necessary, handling the most dangerous opponents and even assassination missions on rival rulers. They also are deployed to provide support to the regular Royal Guard if necessary. The Special Applications has complete diplomatic and political immunity within the empire, and do not have to follow Royal Decree if it is judged as stupid. Command Team: All the commanders of the Royal Guard, which includes all the coordinators and high ranking people. These people are all direct subordinates of Raphael Fontaine, and can ignore orders even from the Monarch, if they contradict Raphael's orders. All of them are the smartest and most skilled members of the Guard, and each one is an extremely powerful battlemage in their own right. They form the Royal Guard inner council, and all are drawn directly from Special Applications branch, with no exception. Support Forces: Contrary to how most support forces operate, the Royal Guard support forces are all trained to fight real wars, and are experts in supply control, supply distribution as well as supply capture and destruction. The men and women here are also elite foot soldiers like their combat counterparts, and can be likewise deployed. They are normally in charge of delivering supplies to all the other Royal Guard, and are directly placed under Raphael Fontaine's command as well. The less fit Royal Guard are placed here, but they are still all considerably more skilled than a normal soldier. Ranks The Royal Guard's ranking system is unique. The names of their ranks are set up by Raphael * Commander (leader) * Inner Council (very high ranking people who are generals) * General (controls three battalion commanders) * Auxilliary General (aids the general in their duties) * Battalion commander (6 Section commanders report to them) * Section Commander (3 contingent leaders report to them) * Contingent leader (controls 5 patrols) * Senior Guardsman (1 every 3 man patrol) * Guardsman There are also unique positions for non combat personnel. All have a deputy. * Training Coordinator (A training coordinator in charge of the training regime, normally pulled from Special Applications. There are a few, and they decide on who learns what.) * Trainer (also normally pulled from the Special Applications. These people train the Royal Guard, and report on the training to the training coordinator) * Special Mission Coordinator (A mission coordinator for the Special Applications, who handles all the covert ops) * Tasking Coordinator (The person in charge of the duties of every Royal Guard. Also plans missions.) * HR Coordinator (Person in charge of all admissions and manpower allocation. They are in charge of handling Royal Guards who are relieved of duty as well.) * Supply/Logistics Coordinator (A person who directly has to answer to Raphael Fontaine, and has to plan all the supplies of the Guard.) * Adminstrator (administrative personnel/clerks. Normally taken from Royal Guards who are too old or injured to continue fighting) Tactics The Royal Guard stations their available manpower at mainly choke points, with regular three man patrols around the palace. In every patrol, there is always at least one male and one female, to ensure that any patrol can search people that are moving around the palace. All teams, regardless of gender make up, are quartered together, with three teams (each on a different shift) sharing one set of quarters. The Royal Guard rotates on three eight hour shifts, with one shift patrolling, one shift training and on alert and the last shift asleep. This allows them to have fresh soldiers at all times. When the guard is changed, the previous shift only retreats when the new shift takes over. The Personal Guard always accompanies the Monarch at all times. At least eight will be in close patrolling around the Monarch, with two always flanking the Monarch. In extreme cases, the Monarch might even be disguised as a Personal Guard, as a Personal Guardsman stands in as a body double. The Special Applications is only ever called upon when needed. Otherwise, they serve as whatever roles they have been assigned. Members of the Special Applications are never members of the Personal Guard. These people are generally elusive and do not have a high profile (unless they are a commander). The command team is solely drawn from Special Applications, and if a Royal Guard is not in Special Applications, they cannot become a commander. Known members Original * Raphael Fontaine (Commander) * Erys (Empress/Special Advisor, Inner Council) * Seth Fontaine (Special Mission Coordinator, Inner Council General) * Celestine Fontaine (Special Applications Team Leader, Battalion Commander rank) * Sariel Fontaine (Contingent Leader, Relieved of Duty) * Arc (Auxiliary General, Deputy to Seth) * Eydis (Tasking Coordinator, Battalion Commander Equivalent) * Elannia (Contingent leader) * Aidan "Nox Draconis" Alaris (Training Coordinator, General) * Colin (Contingent leader) * Lythe (Secret Asset, ranked as Section Commander) * Alistair "Al Fontaine" Hearth-Fire (Special Applications Recruit, Senior Guardsman) * Arielle (Normal Royal Guard) * Arie (Normal Royal Guard) * Claire (Normal Royal Guard) * Seren Alaris, Sword Siren (Contingent Leader) * Odir (Contingent Leader) There are of course more people ... who are not known. Reloaded * Raphael Fontaine (Commander) * 'Eagle' (4E 203-?) (Tasking Coordinator) * Alan 'Dufont' Fontaine (Asset, Retired) * Erissa LaRouche (Asset, Retired) * Jaysch Aetton (Asset, Retired) * Aia (Former Asset, Administrator) * Stauntax Jollamont (Former Asset, Administrator) Category:A Children's Anuad Category:Factions